Brammo Expansion Plans Focus on Off-Road Expansion

Brammo has received approval from the civic planning commission of Ashland, Ore., for its plans to build two new buildings and a private dirt test track. Brammo will now begin seeking a builder and securing funding for construction. The new site should be operating within a year.

The new site could potentially replace Brammo‘s existing headquarters, also located in Ashland. The buildings will house Brammo’s research, design, warehousing and manufacturing offices. Brammo also plans to build future prototypes at the new location.

The expansion will also see Brammo’s local workforce grow to 200-250 employees from the current staff of 40. Brammo says it intends to hire about 20% of the new workers locally.

The new 2.5-acre dirt test track will a play a vital role in the development of new electric off-road vehicles, including the Encite and Engage dirt bikes. The company currently tests its dirt bikes in Italy so the new facility will centralize development.

“It’s very exciting to see our growth here in Ashland, and it will be great having our initial production close in hand,” says Craig Bramscher, chief executive officer and founder of Brammo. “Anything we make that should go in the dirt will probably be developed here.”

Brammo is better known for its on-road models such as its Enertia and upcoming Empulse streetbikes, but with Polaris Industries’ recent $28 million investment into Brammo, electric off-road vehicles will gain added importance in the company. Brammo recently acquired a network of electric off-road riding parks called BrammoParx. The new test track will also serve as a prototype track to demonstrate the viability of BrammoParx franchise locations in the U.S. Brammo says it hopes to have 100 BrammoParx locations in the United States by 2013.